When Sikhs from all over the world congregate in Patna in January next year to participate in the mega event marking the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Govind Singh they would perhaps get a pleasant surprise at Ramgarh, some 300 Kms away from Patna. For, the Sikh Regimental Centre at Ramgarh, a small town near the Capital of Jharkhand, has preserved some of the most important historical artefacts, including the sword, with which Hari Singh Nalwa (Nalua), Commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army, had brought the Afghans to their knees.

It is the sword with which Hari Singh Nalwa (Nalua), Commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the Sikh Empire, founded by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, brought the Afghans to their knees in their own backyard, that too for the only time in human history. An Australian magazine recently declared him as one of the 10 greatest conquerors in the world history. The legendary sword is preserved in a museum located at Sikh regiment centre at Ramgarh, some 40 km from here.

Sikh pilgrims from all across the world will congregate at Patna Sahib, the birthplace of the tenth Sikh Guru, considered one of the holiest places of Sikhs. The Jharkhand Government may take a cue from the Bihar Government which has decided to tap the tourism potential of the historical event.

legend has it that Yusufzai women in Afghanistan used to quieten their newborns by taking Nalwa's name (Chup sha, Hari Singh Raghlay-Keep quiet, Hari Singh is coming) and for young Afghans, his name was a terror spoken in hush hush.

And, probably that's why even American generals used to tell Nalwa's story to motivate their troops when US-Afghan war was in its thick post 9/11.

 Famous poet Indeevar immortalized him in his famous lyrics written for a Hindi film ‘Upkar’ directed by Manoj Kumar.  One stanza from that song called ‘Mere desh ki dharti…(this land my country)’  that has continued to enthuse Indians with patriotic euphoria  went as follows, ‘Rang hara Hari Singh Nalwa-e se…Rang lal hai lal Bahadur se…’

 The Sikh museum houses some of the fine mementoes dating back to the Sikh wars. Some of these are paintings of Mudki, Ferozeshah, Barki, Saragarhi battles, a Japanese flag captured during World War II, an iron gong, a model of HMS Sikh, and a Budha statue brought from China and several weapons captured during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

 “The museum has got the arms, rare paintings inherited by Maharaja of Kapurthala and Maharaja of Patiala,” pointed out a Sikh regiment official.

“Though the museum is not open for general public, but we can allow the people, including school children at our level if they make a request. We will, however, seek permission from the high ups if high profile persons want to visit. Certainly, it will create awareness about the great history of our country,” he pointed out.

Born in 1791, Nalwa joined Durbar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh as a personal attendant but soon rose to become one of the most renowned Generals in annals of Indian history. legend has it that during a hunt in 1804, a tiger attacked him and also killed his horse. His fellow hunters attempted to protect him but he refused their offers and killed the tiger by himself bare handedly by tearing the tiger apart from its mouth, thus earning the cognomen Baagh Maar (Tiger-killer). He fought more than 20 major battles and was responsible for expanding the frontier of Sikh Empire to beyond the Indus River right up to the mouth of the Khyber Pass.

According to Sikh history, Nalwa's administrative rule covered one-third of the Sikh Empire. He served as the Governor of Kashmir (1820–21), Greater Hazara (1822–1837) and was twice appointed the Governor of Peshawar (1834-5 & 1836-his death). He is said to have had ordered to ban cow slaughter in Kashmir. This order has such an effect that to this day, Kashmiri Muslims don’t eat beef.

He established a mint on behalf of the Sikh Empire to facilitate revenue collection in Kashmir and Peshawar. A commemorative postage stamp was issued by the Central Government in 2013, marking the 176th anniversary of Nalwa's death.